I've uploaded my first Android application to Google Play yesterday, and was really excited for my app to finally be on out there.
But my application got suspended for impersonation. I obviously didn't get any more information about what I infringed specifically, and I'm unsure what I should change in order for the app to be accepted (more likely, resend as a different app name).
Before you could help me you'll need to know some information on the app itself. So I basically made a companion app for a video game. I called the application "Horadrim Companion", and it's supposed help players for playing Diablo 3. Naturally, I'm using elements from this game in the app.
So, my main question is why did I get the impersonation suspension?
I can think of several options, please help me figure out what of those could be the issue:
I didn't write "This app is unofficial" in the description, which I've seen several other apps do. This might be the sole reason, but I'm not enough experienced to make this assumption.
I took the logo out of the game lore. Which in itself should be borderline legit, but I've seen other apps do the same, so I assumed it's fine.
The app name. I dont think I've hit a sweet spot with the name or anything, and I dont think it was any of the factors for the bans.
In-app design? I've seen other apps use design elements from Blizzard Entertainment and\or Diablo 3 design elements themselves. Could this be another possible reason? Sounds more like copy right infringement if anything, and not impersonation.
So I'm not sure which, of the above are critical for the impersonation policy or not.
I'd really like your help, you could make one developer a happy man. I'm really afraid the account will be terminated.
I'd really liked your suggestions!
I had the same problem with suspended app publishing because of impersonation.
I solved this by buying/registering the domain name I used as my app package name. I also added my developer email in the company details section of my keystore while signing the apk for release. After doing this my second attempt at publishing was a success.
It becomes easier if you actually own the domain of the package name you wanna use.
I think basically the algorithm used for verifying the originality of our apps is just too strict. So we have to also play our part and go the extra mile to show that we are legit.
Hope someone can relate to this.
All the best.
Usually you receive an email from
Google Play Support with REASON FOR REMOVAL: Violation of the spam provisions of the Content Policy. Please refer to the keyword spam policy help article for more information.
Your title and/or description attempts to impersonate or leverage another popular product without permission. Please remove all such references. Do not use irrelevant, misleading, or excessive keywords in apps descriptions, titles, or metadata.
If you received no such notification, you should try submitting an appeal your app removal/suspension from Google Play using the form in the link below:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/contact/appappeals
It is most likely that the reason for suspension is one from the list of options in your post, but usually it is explicitly highlighted by Google in their email under the section 'REASON FOR REMOVAL'
The link below lists more such reasons for removal due to trademark infringement of a third party IP:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2986098?hl=en&ref_topic=2985713
It is unlikely that your account itself will be terminated, unless you are identified by Google as a repeat offender.
"I took the logo out of the game lore"
It's not your resource so you violate intellectual property
"The app name"
You can't use a trademark word
"I've seen other apps use design elements from Blizzard Entertainment"
Those apps must've been released years ago. Now, the SQA team is really strict about rule.
I mean, if u search "One Piece" or "Naruto" there are a lot of apps that doubtfully has a license.
Related
I'm trying to understand the Google Play app review process.
When an app is rejected you only get a list of generic vague possible reasons your app can be rejected, but nothing specific to your app, leaving you to guess at the reason and resubmit with random changes.
Anyone know how this process works?
It seems they can reject an app for something that 1000s of apps that were approved have?
Their reason was: "During review, we found that your app, violates our Metadata policy"
https://play.google.com/about/storelisting-promotional/metadata/
Which lists several possible issues, could be an issue with the description text, or the logo, or one of the screen shots.
You are left to guess, and attempt to resubmit. But they warn "repeated violations can result in the suspension of this app or your Google Play Developer account". So if you guess wrong and resubmit your account can potentially be suspended...
It was a pretty tame app, no crazy SEO keywords stuff, or offensive or adult content.
Sorry for asking this question here, anyone know if stack exchange has a better place to ask such questions?
So my solution was to remove all of the app screen shots and resubmit.
It went through, so I assume it was one of the screen shots, even though I used almost the identical screen shot on other apps and they had no issues.
One of the screen shots had a woman in a bathing suite, So I assume this was the cause. Pretty insane that Google does not let woman wear bathing suites anymore.
My guess as to Google's process is,
an artificial intelligent algorithm checks your submission using a heuristic looking for key patterns in the text and images
the algorithm flags you app to be rejected, you get automated email
if you appeal a human reviews your submission
the human can neither fully understand why the algorithm flagged your submission, nor override its decisions, so is pretty much useless to argue with them
you must figure out why the algorithm did not like in your submission, and resubmit
Apps are checked with an algorithm, therefore, some may be lucky to pass through the checking system. Even if google had manual checks, some things are subjective and it is possible that for some people you didn't violate policies.
So, if you can guess what could be a reason, fix it and resubmit. Otherwise, you have to write an appeal and then a human being will check it manually.
One of my apps was rejected twice and only got accepted after 2 appeals. Sometimes you may need to prove that you are not violating their policies.
James, I think you are right.
The clause applicable in the case of the bikini was:
Not allowed if "Imagery or videos with sexually suggestive content. Avoid suggestive imagery containing breasts, buttocks, genitalia, or other fetishized anatomy or content, whether illustrated or real."
It is a shame that they do not let you know the reason for rejection when there are 15 possible categories on their page of reasons:
https://play.google.com/about/storelisting-promotional/metadata/
Im asking myself for a long time. Is the word Siri in the Appname of an App in Playstore forbidden or not ? There are some Apps that are called like that example : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=andy.xml , https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magnifis.parking or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluetornadosf.smartypants . How is this possible ? I thought its against the rules of the Developer Console of Google am I right ?`Would my app been banned if I use this word ? Thanks for your answers
It looks like the question shouldn't be here but I already typed an answer. You really could have found this answer in minutes, so next time search on Google first.
You cannot publish anything with copyright or trademark infringements if you do your app will be removed if it is reported or discovered. It also leaves you open to being sued by the trademark owner - Apple. Even implying a link to the original item can leave you open to impersonation lawsuits. If your app is removed and Google consider it a serious breach, your account will be terminated entirely.
So the answer is, it could be serious, but it depends how you use it. In any case just looking at your links above and the similar apps section shows there are already dozens of apps of varying quality offering 'siri-like services'. Ask yourself is it even worth risking your account by adding another copycat app to get lost in the results for that keyword unless yours is something truly special?
I am about to launch an android app and I have decided the name "Math addict" for it.
The problem is -
There is a website named mathaddict.com which has their software called Math addict but I couldn't find copyright documents on their website.
An app exists on Apple App store with the exact same name.
But there is no app with such name on Google Play as of now. Moreover I haven't copied anything from any lf these apps/softwares.
Is it advisable to use this name for my app? My apps have been suspended on Google Play in the past and hence I am little more apprensive this time.
Please suggest what can be done.
I also suggest you jse a different name, let's assume someone search's Math addict in google it is highly possible that the web site you mentionned and the app from app store will be shown at first so yours will be the last except if you do some good work on keywords optimisation,
You instead use something like Math addict app , mathapp, appmath
IANAL. As long as you are not trying to impersonate these other products, you should be fine. However, in the extreme case this can quickly lead to some ugly court battles if your app is in competition with these other websites and products. Assuming that you are a single developer, you probably don't have to worry about this. However, if you have a large success, then you might need to be concerned. The legal battles between Apple Computers and Apple Music are quite famous for fighting over the legal right to a name.
I really don't think you need to be worried about the legalities here. On the other hand, you want your app to be found and not to be confused with other similar apps. At this point, I think differentiating yourself from the competition is probably a much higher concern.
According to Google Play policy:
Impersonation or Deceptive Behavior: Don't pretend to be someone else,
and don't represent that your app is authorized by or produced by
another company or organization if that is not the case. Products or
the ads they contain also must not mimic functionality or warnings
from the operating system or other apps. Products must not contain
false or misleading information in any content, title, icon,
description, or screenshots. Developers must not divert users or
provide links to any other site that mimics or passes itself off as
another app or service. Apps must not have names or icons that appear
confusingly similar to existing products, or to apps supplied with the
device (such as Camera, Gallery or Messaging).
Source
So I will highly suggest you to select a different name for safety.
Can Andorid Apps have same name - public name.. or they need to have different names..
i want to ensure that if i create an app and post on google play... someone else sld not copy the app and host it elsewhere with the same name..
please advise if apps can or cannot have same public name..
Your question is about apps having the same name, but your actual concern is about the theft of your application. These are two separate issues.
If someone did a straight copy of your APK and attempted to post it to Google Play, then they would be unable to do so if you had already posted that same APK to Google Play yourself. The reason they would be prevented from posting it, however, would be due to its package name being the same as an existing app, not because of its name.
A more sophisticated thief might be able to change your package name, and if they could do that, then they could also probably (even more easily) change your app's name. In that case, they might be able to post the resulting app to Google Play. You then would might decide to complain about this to Google and ask that the infringing app be taken down. There is a form for this kind of complaint here:
http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/request.py?contact_type=takedown
I don't know what kind of results you might obtain from such a complaint, but Google has recently become much more focused on preventing infringing apps of this kind, so you might get a good response.
If you're talking about other app stores, outside of Google Play, then you have to look at the policies of those stores. But certainly there is nothing preventing an app that has been posted on Google Play from being posted on these other stores, provided that it meets the policies of the other store. Developers do this themselves (post on multiple app stores) all the time. And of course it can have the same name and the same package.
Regarding the more general question of whether two apps on Google Play can have the same name:
In the past it has been the case that two apps could have the same name on Google Play.
However, in August, 2012 (since you posted your question) Google announced new Developer Program Policies that state that
"Apps must not have names or icons that appear confusingly similar to existing products, or to apps supplied with the device (such as Camera, Gallery or Messaging)."
The full policies can be found here:
http://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy.html
It may still be possible to post an app that has the same name as an existing app, but if someone did that, there is at least some chance that Google's (somewhat inscrutable by design) automated detection process will flag that app for the above reason. This could lead to a letter from Google and, if the app's name were not changed, an eventual takedown.
These policies are relatively new, and probably nobody, even Google, knows exactly how they are going to play out. How, for example, will Google resolve apps that are already similarly named? Will it go with the first app to use the name, or will it go with the most popular app having the name, or will it ask app owners to negotiate a settlement, or will it just allow the ambiguous names to be grandfathered in? I certainly do not know the answer, but for new apps, for sure, honest developers will avoid naming their apps in a manner that is similar to your app, and malfeasants who use the same name are likely to hear from Google.
Your package name must be unique (ex. com.example.mail.free) to publish an app on Google Play.
I nearly sure that the name is not important. You can have different names on different languages.
I was wondering what the most effective way of preventing people from stealing my application (downloading a copy of the .apk online rather than buying it).
I've spent a lot of time on one in particular (Droidbox) and won't be releasing Sync until I can guarantee that the people who are providing illegal copies of the pro version aren't able to.
Anyone implemented this? I've tried checking my package signature verses an the signature of an unsigned copy but it appears to be the same - perhaps I'm doing something incorrectly here. I'm unsure whether people actually distribute the signed .apk in which case I don't think signature validation would work to begin with...
Please note, this question is specific to Android Marketplace Applications - the difference being, application delivery is out of my hands and I have no way of linking between a legitimate purchase and an illegal download.
Now there is the new Google App Licensing available. For deeper information read about it in the android developer blog.
A short summary: Google provides a library that makes a inter process call to the market client on the phone. The market client will then ask the google servers if the signed in user has purchased the app and forward this answer to you. There should be a public key in you developer profile that you need to encrypt the connection to the google server to prevent spoofing of answers. You also provide a application and device unique id with the query to make it impossible to forward approved queries to another device and build something like an licensing proxy with one bought copy forwarding the IS LICENSED answers to other devices.
At the moment this service looks secure enough to protect even the more valuable apps in the market. I will give it a try and maybe come back and leave some more informations after I used it a little bit.
If your app is really popular like an EA game or something this wan't stop users from hacking it. To hack the app somebody has to buy it, then unzip the apk, and edit the bytecode of your app to think that the market send a correct answer. The new byte code can be packed into another apk and can be installed on every phone that allows side loading.
To make this harder you can always try to obfuscate your apk and make your bytecode hard to understand.
There is a single, useful connection between an application buyer and the developer through the marketplace, the forwarding email address provided by google to contact the buyer.
Utilizing the integration callback setting to send buy information to your own server, you can use PHP to send a unique identifier (registration code) to the buy via email (real time as the callback is shipped from google during a purchase. The user then uses this email to register their software using the unique identifier that is then linked to their android ID (or google account username) and the software is "activated" and guaranteed to be legitimate.
Obvious Questions
Why is this a suitable solution when it requires the user to read email? Our market are those people who are capable of buying an application using an android device. By using an android device, it is implied that the user has a google account which implies they know how to use email.
How do I use the email with the unique identifier with my application? Create a content handler in your application that handles something like "myactivator://uniqueid-or-something" which causes your application to communicate to your internal server that keeps tabs on activations. Embed this as a link in the email that the user can click on.
How should I generate the unique identifer? I'm going to use the email somehow - I'm fairly confident google has already made it unique enough to disallow any feasible method of contact information selling.
What about people who have already purchased the software? A lot of options here - none ideal or terrible.
Send emails to all previous buyers
Allow users to activate by typing in their order number (can be obtained by logging into checkout.google.com.
Why bother?
Because some of us put a lot of time into applications and saying "you should just accept pirating" is a slap in the face.
The people that are lax enough to use pirated copies of your application to access their DropBox are probably using their DropBox for piracy anyway. Forget those people. Let them go. Yes, it's a huge number of people I bet, but let's face it, those people were never going to pay you anything anyway. Focus on the parts that you can control, and forget the rest.
Focus on the Android users that use DropBox for their work, for their businesses, for their own code, for their finance, for their thesis, and/or for their private family pictures. 95% of those people, that have something of value in their DropBox, and that want it kept private, are going to want to buy your application (assuming it's good enough for them).
Let me use this analogy:
When it comes to hiring a locksmith to put a lock on your home, do you hire the guy that looks the part and takes $150 an hour, or do you hire the shady guy that is willing to sell you a stolen lock to put on your front door?
Release your own illegal copy in the best known forums and have it disable itself after a week and showing a message like
Thanks for stealing... I make my living with programming this app. The x Dollar won't hurt you and I could by my next meal and go on making great updates for you.
I think this is the only thing that you can do about it. People will always find a way to copy your app and all countermeasures will only disturb the users that paid for the app.
The people copying your app aren't your customers and they never will be. Just see their use of the program as a kind of viral marketing. At least they are talking about your app and maybe some of their friends will then buy the app.
General shareware advice here - license the software to the individual. i.e. provide a license key that is personalized to their username. They'll be much less likely to distribute a key if it's got their name on it. You can probably automate the backend fulfillment of the order, to provide custom keys. Have your "Pro" version operate in trial mode until the name/key are entered.
Don't leave your computers so that someone can steal your applications from there.
Or wait.. Did you meant you don't want others to copy your software? Then.. not publishing it in the first place is likely your best option.
A bit related link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003120-248.html
You neither have any mechanism to estimate amount of illegally copied software. Enjoy your attempts from stopping the rain even though entities bigger than you have attempted and failed.
There is a new tool in the wild that seems to good to be true:
Automatic Application Licensing from Keyes Lab.
I haven't tried it yet but if this works it sound like something you want to use in your high priced android apps.
If anybody tested it leave a comment or edit my answer with personal feedback.
I have the same issue. I recently found a number of my paid apps available for free download on this site: https://dlandroid.com/
I asked them to remove my app APKs, but I'm sure there are many other similar sites. Presumably they have a rooted phone which gets one valid copy of the app from Google Play, then uploads it onto their web site to distribute to all and sundry for free.
You could spend endless amounts of time ensuring that there are no pirated copies of your apps on the web, or implementing complex piracy protection measures, which would most likely make things less convenient for your genuine paid users. But I guess in the end, you have to be prepared to make a trade-off and accept that a certain level of loss is inevitable, and hope that most people are honest and get your app through the proper channels rather than risk malware infection by going to dodgy sites like this.